Forging press



July 23, 1946.

H. N. ANDERSON FORGING PRESS Filed May 28, 1943 2 Sheets-Shagt lINVENTOR. #42010 M 4NQE/F50N July 23, '1946.

H. N. ANDERSON FORGING PRES S Filed May 28, 1943 .2 Sheets-Sheet 2ATZ'OP/VEKS.

Patented July 23, 1946 FORGING PRESS Harold N. Anderson, Rocky River,Ohio Application May 28, 1943, Serial No. 488,806

10 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in a press of the type used forforging and drawing metals and for similar operations. The improvementrelates to the changing of the position of the moving die generallywhile the latter is in motion and provides a means for varying theposition of the stroke of a reciprocating press while always providing apositive stroke between rigidly supported members.

'An object of the present invention is the provision, in a machinehaving a die whose motion is controlled by a rotating shaft, of meansfor changing the position of the moving die relative to the cooperatingdie while the shaft is in rotation.

Anothero'bject of the present invention is the provision of novel meansfor automatically advancing a moving die toward a cooperating die whilethe moving die is in motion.

A more specific object of the present invention relates to that type ofmachine in which a die is moved by means of a rotating crank andconsists in the changing of position of the crankshaft in a novel mannerso as to vary the approach stroke ofthe dies. 1 1

My invention also provides a novel means for shifting the position of ashaft by means of GCCGIl-s,

tric bearings so as to vary the position of .a die driven from thatshaft.

, Other improvements found in my present invention relate to a specifichydraulic means for carrying out the above named purposes.

Other advantages of my improved mechanism will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and specification and the essential features willbe set forth in the appended claims. 7

In the drawings a v Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a forgingpress embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view taken along the line 33of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 isa'diagrammatic view illustrating the hydraulic system forcontrolling the parts illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3;

Figs. 5 and 6 illustrate other positions of one of the valves shown inFig. 4; while Fig. 7 is a detail of a throttling valve shown in Fig. 4.

One of the disadvantages of forging presses, drawing presses and similarmetal working machinery in common use today is that they must work atrelatively low speeds if accurate die work is tobe performed. Obviouslythis remark does not apply to high, speed hammers, but this type ofequipment is not adapted for accurate die work. I

The present invention provides means whereby a moving die or hammer maybe driven at relatively high speed toward a piece of metal to be formedand which is held in a rigidly fixed coacting die or platen. The strokeof themovingdie is 'very accurately controlled so that an exactpredetermined amount of work may be done on the metal at any one strokeand yetthe machine makes use ofthe momentum of the moving die to performwork. My invention is applicable to machines of this type whether theybevertical, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, or horizontalor inclined. h H

In the drawings I have illustrated my invention as applied to a forgingpress of the vertical type. This press comprises a frame I0 in the lowerportion of which is rigidly fixed a platen or die II. In theupperportion of the frame suitably guided for sliding movement in a verticaldirection is the slide or movable platen l2. Suitable dies may beprovided in either or'both of the platens for producing the desired workin apiece of metal by forging or drawing operations or the like, as

will be readily understood by those skilled in this art. The movement ofthe platen I2 is provided by means of a rotatable shaft I3 which has acrank throw l4 operatively connectedbyth'e link or connecting rod l5which is pivotally-mounted in the platen [2 at the point 16. It will beunderstood that wherever I have referred to a crank connection betweenthe rotatable shaft and the moving platen I intend to include suchconnections as the Scotch yoke and other similar equiv alentconnections. The means for rotating shaft l3 comprises a large gear I!rigidly fixed on or clutched to shaft I3 and meshing with pinion I8 onjack shaft i9. At its oppositeendthis jack shaft carries a combinedpulley and flywheel 20 which has a suitable driving'belt connection 21with the pulley 22 of motor 23.

Means is provided for varying the position of the upper end ofconnecting rod 15 relative to the frame In so as to vary the stroke ofthe platen l2, thus varying the relative approach ofthe movable platento the stationary platen II. In the embodimentsh'own here the shaft l3,as best seen in Fig. 3, is mounted in a bearing 24 which is eccentricwith respect to the axis of shaft [3. The bearing 24 is rigidly mountedin a shell 25, which in turn may be mounted in suitable bearings 26 inthe frame Ill. The construction is the same in both side portions of theframe [0 and the two shells-25, as clearly shown in Fig.;1, are providedwith arms 25a which converge centrally.

and toward the rear of the machine to a common point 21 where they havea pivot connection with there indicated, which moves the center of shaftI 3 from' the. upper position marked |3a to the lower position markedl3a'.

Preferably power means is utilized for moving the eccentric hearing asjust described. To th s 7 end I have mounted a double acting cylinderand piston motor 28 on a trunnion mounting atthe point 29. The piston ofthis motor is connected by piston rod 3| with the pivot pin at thepoint' 21. A pressure fluid supply system for motor 25 34, valve 35,;conduit 36, valve 31 and conduit 38 to the upper end of themotorcylinderl; Obviously theworking portion of the stroke'of pIa'tnJZoccurs on downward movementof the later approaching platen l, and thenon-working portion'of the stroke is its upper portion. This non-workingportion occurs partly on the upstroke and partly on the downstroke. Theworking portion of the stroke occurs when the platen I 2 strikes thework resting on platen lVIeans is provided 'for "opening valve 31automatically during the non-working portionof the stroke and forclosing the valve during the'workingportion of thestrokea Such a meansis here shown-oomprising an arm 3 Ta:for rotating valve31, this'armhaving an open slot 31b in its free end which en-' gages 21-pin '39carried by the platen I2. On the up stroke of platen l2, as best seen'inFig. 4, the valve is carried to open position as shown in full lines. Onthe downstroke of platen 12 the valve is carried to closed position,'asshown in dot-dash lines." 'i

V The valve is to control the rate of flow through'-"conduits '34 and36to valve 31 when it is' open,; Any suitable valve may beusedfo'itthispurpo e. but as here' indicated I have shownarotatable cock having aV-shaped port 35a extending through the center thereof so that'when theapex of theport begins to open a very nicecontrol of thea'mount of fluidflowing is provided.

The valve 33 is under 'controlof the operator and to this end Ihave'shown an arm 33a for rotating the valve connected by linkwith'treadle 4| which extendsto the front of the machine where it isprovided with a foot-piece 42, The valve 33 has three positions as shownin Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The position shown in Fig. 4 corresponds to thefull line position of treadle 4 I and supplies pressure fluid as alreadydescribed to the upper end of motor 28. Thesecond position of the valveshown in Fig. 515a neutral position which cuts 01? the supply of fluidin either direction. This second position corresponds to the broken;line positionof treadle 4| in Fig. 4 anda heavy spring 43 is provided'at this point so as to warn the operator upon further depression of thefoot piece .42. The third position of valve 33 is' illustrated in 6.This'cuts off the supply of fluid from conduit'32to conduit 34 aspreviously described and provides a'flow from conduit 32 through conduit44 to'the lower end of moto'r'28fo1 operating piston 3|] in the oppositedirection, This removed from the 'foot piece 42, whereupon spring 45(Fig. 4) moves treadle 4| to the dot-dash line.

position, moving valve '33 to the position of Fig. 6 just described.

It will be noted that valve 33 and its connections with motor 28 havebeen arranged for use of an incompressible fluid, such as oil. Thepassages of the valve are therefore arranged so that in the position ofFig. 4, when flow. occurs between conduits 32 and 34 on the intake side,fiuid' exhausting from.motor 28'flows;frorn conduit 44 to conduit 46,which is intended to indicate a flow back to a tank or reservoir for thepump supplying conduit 32. In like manner, when valve 33 is in theposition of Fig. 6 fluid flow is directly from conduit 32 to conduit 44on the intake side and the return flow is from conduit 34 to conduit I46 back to the tank.

It is believed that the operation of my improved device will now beapparent. With the parts in the full line position of Figs. 3 and 4, theshaft I3 is in its uppermost position and the platen I2 is in its mostremote position with respect to platen l Control button 41 or somesimilar control rneansris now operated to start motor 23. An abutmenttype of air clutch (not shown) in the drive from motor 23 to shaft I3 isthen engaged; This produces rotation of shaft |3, which, by the crankconnection l4, causes repeated vertical strokes of platen Y |2. If an-article to be worked uponis held betweenthe eoacting platen a stroke ofpredetermined length will produce a predetermined amount of work on thearticle until some change in eccentric bearing 24 occurs. If theopposition of Fig. 4, fluid is supplied through valves 33. 35 and 31 ateachgupward stroke Of platen I2. Since this occurs when the loadisremoved from the moving platenit is notjvery difficult to rotatetheeccentric bearing. At, each upward movement of platen l2 a. shot ofpressure fluid is supplied abovev'piston 30, causing intermittentdownward movement of the same, which carries with it the arms 25a soasto gradually rotate the eccentric bearing 24 to the dot-dash position ofFig. 3. .{Ifhe amount of each of these successivemovementsor the amountof the shot of. fluid suppliedateach operation of .valve 31 depend supon the setting of the control valve 35 as willreadily appear. Theoperator may maintain the foot piece 42 in the fully depressed positionindicated at full lines in Fig. 4 as long a s he desires the platen l2tobe movedcloser to the platen II on each stroke. If at any time hedesires two or more strokes without further relative approach between".the two platens he simply decreases the pressure on the foot piece 42until spring 43 moves to its unstressed position indicated in Fig. 4,whereupon the treadle is inthe brokenlineeposition there shown and thevalve 33 is inthe neutral position of Fig. 5. In this position of theparts n0 movement of piston .30 occurs. Upon completion of the work uponthe article the operatorremoves his foot permitting treadle 4| to movetothe dotdash position of Fig. 4 and placing valve-33 in the position ofFig. 6. This suppliesfluid'b eneath piston 30 and returns the arms 25ato theiruppermost position and turns the eccentric bearin 24 to theposition indicated in full lines in'Figs. a 3 and 4. The parts are thenin the position for operating upon another article. Y a

The valve 33 might be arranged to'supplyfluid directly from conduit 32to conduit3|i in the neutralposition shown in Fig. 5. butotherways of removing p essurefrom the pump are-we'll known;

such as a spring-loaded by-pass direct from th pump discharge to thesupply tank. i

It will be noted from Fig. 2 that the relationship between gear I1 andpinion I8 is such as to permit the downward movement of gear l1 alongwith shaft I3 in the manner just described without seriously interferingwith the suitable mesh ing of the teeth of the gear and pinion. Othermeans are available for accommodating this downward movement of shaftl3,- but the same forms no part of the present invention. J

It will be seenfrom the above description that I have provided rigidsupport for platen l2 at all times with meansfor varying the position ofplaten 12 relative to platen I I while the machine is operating andshaft l3'fis rotating; The change of the stroke of platen l.2']is alwaysdeflnit and is under the control of the operator. 'He'may produce asmall or large increment of approach between the coacting platens ateach stroke of the movable platen and he may stop such approach movementor cause retrograde movement between the platens at any time he desires.

My improved device herein disclosed has the advantages of a press and ofahammer also. It is like a press in that the stresses are self-containedand the amount of deformation of the metal worked upon is predeterminedby the setting of the dies. In hammer operations there is nopredetermined distance between the dies at each stroke, but instead theamount of deformation occurring at each stroke of the hammer isdependent upon the resistance of the work. It

has the advanta e of a hammer over a press in that it permits a gradualapproach of the dies, shaping the work by repeated blows, which refinesthe metal and which permits the removal of scale between blows. Myimproved device is able to; duplicate the higher momentum of the hammer,forcing the metal into the sharp corners of the dies, if there be such.

What I claim is:

1. In a press of the type comprising a pair of coacting platens at leastone of which is movable relative to the other in a substantially linearstroke movement, a rotatable shaft, an operative connection between saidmovable platen and said shaft including a connection eccentric with saidshaft, and means operable by movement of the press for varying theeccentricity of said connection relative to said shaft.

2. In a press of the type comprising a pair of coacting platens at leastone of which is movable relative to the other in a substantially linearstroke movement, a rotatable shaft, an operative connection between saidmovable platen and said shaft including a connection eccentric with saidshaft, power means for varying the eccentricity of said connectionrelative to said shaft, and control means for said power means having anoperative connection with said movable platen.

3. In a press of the type comprising a pair of coacting platens at leastone of which is movable relative to the other in a substantially linearstroke movement, a rotatable shaft, an operative connection between saidmovable platen and said shaft including a connection eccentric with saidshaft, power means for varying the eccentricity of said connectionrelative to said shaft, and op-.

erator-operable control means for causing said power means to vary theeccentricity of said connection in a manner to produce closer relativeapproach movement of said coacting platens, said control means beingprovided with means automeans by said operator to produce-retrogrademovement of said movable platen relative'to said tatable' shaft, a driveconnection between said movable platen and said shaft, a bearing for"said shaft'eccentric of the latter, cylinder and piston, motor meanshaving an operative connectionwith said bearing for rotating the latter,a pressure fiuid supply for operating said motor in a direc tion to varythe eccentricity of said bearing in a manner to produce-closer' relativeapproach movement of said coacting platens, a valve in said pressurefluid supply, and means foropeningsaid valve responsive to a portion ofsaid stroke when said movable platen is out of engagement with the work.

5. In a pressof the type comprising a pair of coacting platens at leastone of which is movable relative to the other in a stroke movementwherein the working portion of the stroke occurs upon.

relative approach of said platens and the nonworking portion of thestroke occurs upon relative recession of said platens, a rotatableshaft, a drive connection between said movable platen and said shaft, abearing for said shaft eccentric of the latter, cylinder and pistonmotor means having an operative connection with said bearing forrotating the latter, a pressure fluid supply for operating said motor ina direction to vary the position of said bearing in a manner to producecloser relative approach movement of said coacting platens, a valve insaid pressure fluid supply, means for opening said valve during thenonworking portion of the stroke of said movable platen, and a secondvalve operator-controlled in series with said first named valve.

6. In a press of the type comprising a pair of coasting platens at leastone of which is movable relative to the other in a stroke movementwherein the working portion of the stroke occurs upon relative approachof said platens and the nonworking portion of the stroke occurs uponrelative recession of said platens, a rotatable shaft, a driveconnection between said movable platen and said shaft, a bearing forsaid shaft eccentric of the latter, double-acting cylinder and pistonmotor means having an operative connection with said bearing forrotating the latter, a pressure fluid supply for operating said motor ina direction to vary the position of said bearing in a manner to producecloser relative approach movement of said coacting platens, a valve insaid pressure fluid supply, means for opening said valve during thenon-working portion of the stroke of said movable platen, and a secondvalve operator-controlled in series with said first named valve, saidsecond valve having three positions, namely, a fluid supply position, afluid cut-off position, and a third position adapted to supply pressurefluid for operating said motor in the opposite direction for producingrotation of said eccentric bearing in a manner to provide retrogrademovement of said movable platen relative to said coacting platen.

'7. In a press of the type described, a frame, a relatively fixedplaten, a crankshaft, a movable platen carried thereby in position tocoact with said fixed platen, said frame having spaced rigid members,axially alined bearings equally eccentric with respect to said shaft andsupporting the latter. in said frame members,-.and means forsimultaneously rotating said bearings to vary the distance between saidplatens.

8. In a press of the type comprising a coacting platens at least one ofwhich is movable relative to the other in a stroke movement, a rotatableshaft, an operative connection between said movable platen andsaidshaft, power means for varying the relative approach movement of saidcoacting platens, a power source for said power means, a control memberfor said source, means for moving said control member to power supplyposition responsive to a portion of said stroke when said movable platenis. out of engagement with the work, and a second operatoroperablec'ontrol 'member connected with said power source in series with saidfirst named controlmember.

9. In a press of the type comprising a pair ofcoacting platens at leastone of which is movable relative to the other in a stroke movement, arotatable shaft, an operative connection between said movable platen andsaid shaft, power means for varying the relative approach movement ofsaid coacting platens, a power source for said power means, a controlmember for said source, means for moving said control member to powersupply position responsive, to a portion of said pair of stroke whensaid movable platen'is out of engage ment with the work, and a secondcontrol member, connected with said power source in series with saidfirst: named controlmember and adjustable to vary "the amount ofpowerrsupplied upon movement ofsaid first named control memher to powersupply position.

10. In a press of the type comprising a pair of coacting platens atleast one ofwhich is movable relative to the other in a stroke movement,a rotatable shaft, an'operative connection between said movable platenand :said shaft, power means for varying the relative approachmovementsof saidcoacting platens, arpower sourcefor said power means, acontrolmemberfor said source, means for moving said-control member topower supply position responsive toga portion of said stroke when saidmovable platen is out of engage- HAROLD N; ANDERSON.

